Glasgow and District Branch

Mary Duxbury, Chairman of Glasgow and District Branch told us about the hanging the Branch has been making as part of their fundraising for the new centre in Manchester. The hanging is to go in their local Maggie's Centre, which opened last October. Maggie's Centres offer help, information and support for people affected by cancer - patients themselves, their families and friends or carers. All the money raised is divided equally between the Embroiderers' Guild and the Maggie's Centre.

The hanging was designed by Malcolm Lochhead and consists of 640 squares of colour, made up of 4 rolls of fabric each containing a message. This makes 2560 rolls. Members of the public are asked to make a donation and write a personal message, which they roll up and seal. They then choose the fabric to wrap it in and the wool to tie it up. The ends of the pieces of wool are later used to tie the rolls to the canvas backing.

We like the way Glasgow and District Branch have got the public interested in what they are doing by taking their stand to a variety of locations, including Glasgow Airport and an Orchid Fair in Glasgow Botanical Gardens, not to mention the Branch exhibition at Pollok House. Because the hanging will be 2.8m by 1m, they have made it in six sections and are now collecting messages for the last section. Members of the Branch have been busy tying the rolls to the canvas and are about to start assembling it.

The pictures show Branch members at the Kibble Palace at Glasgow Botanical Gardens, helping members of the public to tie up their rolls. You can see one completed section in the background and the design on the display board.

Thank you Glasgow and District Branch for all the hard work and inspiration that is going into this exciting project. We're looking forward to seeing the finished hanging!